R. Becket Ebitz

Shared Latent Decision Strategies Underlie Reward-Guided Behavior Across Species

This study identifies a shared latent reward-learning strategy in mice and humans using probabilistic reversal learning tasks and latent state modeling.

NMDA receptor ablation in medial prefrontal cortex disrupts value updating and reward history integration

This study shows that NMDA receptor loss in the medial prefrontal cortex impairs value updating and reward history integration in mice, mimicking schizophrenia-like cognitive deficits.

Persistent Decision-Making in Mice, Monkeys, and Humans

This study compares persistence in decision-making across mice, monkeys, and humans in a dynamic task, finding that primates outlast mice in exploitation strategies.

Sex-biased computations underlying differential set shift performance in mice

The paper investigates sex differences in cognitive flexibility using a novel touchscreen Set Shift task in mice, finding females perform better with fewer errors and distinct computational strategies.

16p11.2 duplication shows early male-biased impacts on reward learning, but NMDA receptor antagonism reduces optimal choice selection in both wildtypes and 16p11.2 duplication

This study examines how 16p11.2 duplication affects reward learning in mice, finding male-biased impacts in early training but no genotype effect in a bandit task, while NMDAR antagonism impairs choice flexibility in all animals.

A Foraging-Theory-Based Model Captures the Spectrum of Human Behavioral Diversity in Sequential Decision Making

This paper introduces a foraging-theory-based model that better captures human behavioral diversity in sequential decision-making compared to traditional value-comparison models.

Touchscreen response precision is sensitive to the explore/exploit tradeoff

This study shows that touchscreen response precision in mice is influenced by explore/exploit state, reward history, and individual differences, reflecting subjective certainty in reward-guided decision making.

Nonlinear modulation of human exploration by distinct sources of uncertainty

The paper shows that human exploration behavior follows a U-shaped pattern with the ratio of volatility to stochasticity in uncertain environments, with optimal performance at intermediate uncertainty ratios.

Individual differences in sequential decision-making

The paper identifies a dominant nonlinear axis of individual variability in decision-making tasks, showing that exploration tendency, rather than personality or learning parameters, drives differences in performance.

Distinct computational mechanisms of uncertainty processing explain opposing exploratory behaviors in anxiety and apathy

This study identifies distinct computational mechanisms of uncertainty processing in anxiety and apathy, showing how they influence exploratory behaviors through different perceptions of volatility and stochasticity.

"Value" emerges from imperfect memory

This study shows that agents with imperfect memory can outperform those with perfect memory in decision-making tasks and generate value-based behaviors without calculating value.

Irrational choices via a curvilinear representational geometry for value

The paper shows that value is represented in a curved manifold in the vmPFC, leading to irrational decision-making when decoy options are worse in value.

Humans forage for reward in reinforcement learning tasks

This study shows humans use compare-to-threshold computations in decision-making tasks, outperforming traditional reinforcement learning models.

Learning attentional templates for value-based decision-making

This study investigates how the brain learns and uses attentional templates in decision-making tasks, showing that templates are represented in prefrontal and parietal cortex and transform stimuli into value representations.

A low dimensional manifold of human exploration and exploitation behavior reveals states of apathy and anxiety

The paper identifies a low-dimensional behavioral manifold that captures exploration-exploitation decision-making and links it to symptoms of apathy and anxiety.

Pupil size predicts the onset of exploration and changes in prefrontal dynamics

The paper shows pupil size predicts exploration onset and prefrontal neural changes in rhesus macaques during decision-making.

Subspace alignment as a mechanism for binding

The paper investigates how the brain binds features of options during decision-making using aligned and orthogonal subspaces in neural activity.

Tonic activity in lateral habenula neurons promotes disengagement from reward-seeking behavior

This study shows that tonic activity in lateral habenula neurons promotes disengagement from reward-seeking behavior, with no similar activity in VTA dopamine neurons.

Human dorsal anterior cingulate neurons signal conflict by amplifying task-relevant information

The paper shows that conflict in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) amplifies task-relevant information across neurons, rather than relying on specific conflict-encoding neurons or coactivation of action plans.

Rule adherence warps decision-making

The paper investigates how rules affect neural representations during decision-making, finding that rules warp neural activity to prioritize relevant information.

Exploratory noise governs both flexibility and spontaneous errors and is regulated by cocaine

This study shows that exploratory noise influences both cognitive flexibility and spontaneous errors, with cocaine reducing exploration and improving performance by lowering lapse rates.